Radiator protector



April 8 1924.

H. F. HUDSON RADIATOR PROTECTOR Filed April 5, 1923 Patented Apr. 8,1924.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

RADIATOR PROTECTOR.

Application filed April 5, 1928. Serial No. 830,012.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HAVARD F ARMER HUD- soN, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at \Vichita, count of Sedgwick, and State of Kansas,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in RadiatorProtectors; and I do declare the following to be a full, cleai fa ndexact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilledin the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, referencebeing had to the accompanying drawings, and to the characters ofreference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

This invention relates to radiator protectors and has special referenceto a protector that shall be automatic in its operation.

In order to obtain the best results from an internal combustion engin itis necessary that the temperature 0 the cooling water shall bemaintained as near as possible to the optimum.

It has become customary, of late, to secure to the front of the radiatora sheet-metal protector provided with a number of louvers that can heopened and closed for the purpose of controlling the amount of air thatcan pass through the radiator. In some instances the louvers arecontrolled by a thermostat that adjusts the louvers in accordance withthe temperature of'the water in the radiator.

It is the object of this invention to produce an improved protector thatshall be so designed that the louvers cannot be opened until the waterhas attained a certain temperature and in which the louvers will beautomatically. closed when the gear-shift lever is thrown into neutralposition.

In order to more clearly describe my invention, I shall have referenceto the accompanying drawing in which I have shown the preferredembodiment thereof, and in which:

Fig. 1 shows a side elevation of a portion of an automobile, to theradiator of which my improved protector has been applied, portionsbeingbroken away to better show the relationship of the parts.

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of my protector;

Fig. 3 is a detail showing the manner in which the gear-shift leverfunctions to control the louvers.

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the control box, parts thereof beingbroken away so as to show the interior.

Fig. 5 shows a perspective of a modified form of control box; and

Fig. 6 is a section taken on line 66,

Fig. 5.

he same reference characters will be used to designate the same partsthroughout the several views.

Numeral 1 designates the radiator of an automobile to which my improvedprotector 2 has been secured, while 3 designates the gear-shift lever.

My protector consists of a frame 4 of sheet-metal, the inner edge ofwhich is bent outwardl to form a flan e 5 which fits against t e frontof the radiator. Pivotally connected to the vertical sides of the frame4 are a number of louvers 6. These louvers are pivoted near the frontedge of the frame and will, unless restrained, assume a substantiallyvertical position. Near the top of my protector there is a shelf 7 tothe upper surface of which is secured a. box 8 which is shown in detailin F ig. 4 and which is constructed as follows: A shaft 9 is rotatablymounted in the ends of the box and is provided with a number ofdiametrical pins 10 which make various angles with eachother. Pins 10may have their ends flattened and made in the shape of a propeller sothat when the wax in the box is in what maybe called the mushy state,the pins will tend to move the wax endwise in the box so that one pinwill tend to close the cut made by the adjacent in. Rods 11 extendtransversely through t e box at points intermediate the pins 10. Aratchet wheel 12 is non-rotatably secured to the end of shaft 9. A lever13 is pivotally mounted on the shaft 9 and has attached thereto a pawl14 which cooperates with the teeth on the ratchet wheel. A spring detent15 may be secured to the box so as to prevent rotation of the ratchetwheel in one direction. were omitted, the friction between the lever 13and the ratchet wheel 12 would at times cause the shaft 9 to be rotatedin the reverse direction, which would interfere with the properoperation of the device. The box 8 105 is filled or partly filled withhydro-carbon, a wax composition or .a readily fusible alloy. It isevident that with the shaft 9 and pins 10 embedded in wax, the shaftcannot be turned unless the wax is sufficiently heated 110 If the detent15 so as to be'fluid. A red 16 is pivotally connected .to the end of thelever 13 and extends downwardly past all the louvers, the rear ed es ofwhich are pivotally attached to the r0 at points indicated by numeral17. It will now be evident that the louvers can only move in unison andthat they can be opened only when the shaft 9 can be rotated, whereasthey can 'alwaysbe moved from open to closed osition.

Secured to t 0 lower louver is a lever 18 to the end of which isfastened a coil spring 19. A piano wire or other flexible connector 20extends from the upper end of spring 19 to the ear-shift lever 3 andserves to open and c ose the louvers in a manner that will hereinafterbe described. A bracket 21 is secured to the floor of the car, bracedis. adjusted so operative position.

from the instrument board, and serves to support the end of a tubularmember 22, through which the flexible member 20 extends. At the to ofthe rotector a curved pipe or tube 23 nt at right angles, serves as theide which permits the flexible memher 20 to make the change of directionF astened to the engine is a bracket 24 which serves as an anchor forone end of the spring the flexible member 20. F'astened to thegear-shift lever 3 is a short bracket 26 which terminates directly overtheopen end of the a 'tube 22. ,The end of the flexible member isfastened to the bracket 26 and itsv length neutral position the louverswill be closed. The function of spring is topull the flexible member 20forward whenever the lever 3 ismoved from any operative to its neutralposition.

In Fig. 3 I have shown how the lever 3 whenever itis moved from neutralto any Let us now consider that the parts occupythe position shown inFig. 1 in which lever 3 is in. neutral position-and the louvers areclosed. Let us further imagine that the radiator is cold and that thewaxin box 8 is hard. When the engine has been started and the lever 3 movedto the roper position, the flexible member 20 wi put spring 19 undertension-and the latter will tend to .open the louvers. Since the shaft 9cannot rotatefthe-louvers will. remain closed until such time as whenthe radiator becomes sufiiciently hot to melt the wax in box 8,

. when the action of spring 19 will cause them to open.

From the above descri tion, it Wlll be exident that I have p need aradiator protector that is adapted to. ,be applied to the'radiator of anordinary car and which is so designed an constructed that it Wlll notopen until the temperature of the radiator water has reached such apoint that the other end of which is secured to that when lever 3' is.in its the wax in the control box will melt. This assures that theprotector will remain closed for some time after the car has first beenstarted, and also assures that it will open before the water gets toohot. By reason of the fact that the protector is controlled from thegear-shift lever, it will always be closed whenever the car is. standingstill. This prevents any unnecessary coollng of the water.

The control box 8 with its pawl and ratchet connection between thelouvers and the shaft 9 and with its detent 15 serves a very importantfunction in the temperature control, as well as in the mechanicalcontrol. As explained above, when we start the car on a very cold da thelouvers 6 will remain closed until the engine gets hot and thetemperature of the radiator becomes high enough to melt the waxsufliciently to permit the s rin 19 to open the louvers by rotating t es aft 9. As we drive along with the louvers wide open, the radiator andthe engine will begin to cool and the wax in the control box will soonharden. A condition is now reached in which the engine is too cold andthe louvers are in fully opened position. This might be remedied by thedriver by moving the gear-shift lever to neutral position for an mstantwhich would permit the .the case in which the louvers are open and thewax hard, due to a too low temperature. Atthe first bump in the road thelouvers will be moved to artly closed position and will be held in t isposition by the action of the pawl 14 and the ratchet wheel 12, untilthe wax softens and permits them to open wider which will only, happenif the louvers were closed too much, in which case the wax will softenslowly and permit them.

to slowl open until the wax hardens a little and ho (is them fromfurther movement which will then bethe proper adjustments for theconditions under which the car operates. If the day is' very cold andthe louvers did not close sufficiently at the first. bump, they willclose more when a harder bump is passed. In this manner the opera ing ofthe louvers is automatically adjusted to suit the actual conditions ofoperation -with.the accuracy of a thermostatic control and with theadded advantage that the louvers are closed instantly the moment thelever 3 is moved to neutral position, whereas in a thermostaticallycontrolled protector the louvers will not close until the water has beengreatly cooled.

I have shown and described the control box which is located on a shelf 8near the top of the protector. It is essential, however that the chambercontaining the central box shall be lined with a heat-insulatingmaterial so that the temerature of the control box will not be un ulyaffected by the outside temperature, but will maintain a temperaturecorresponding closely to that of the radiator. It is not absolutelyessential that the control box 8 shall be located exactly where it isshown, as it is evident that it may be differently located and stillperform its function. I therefore do not desire to be limited to thespecific location shown. Although I have shown my device connected tothe gear-shift lever of an automobile, I desire to have it understoodthat it may be connected to any lever which is moved to neutral positionwhen the car is idling. In automobiles having planetary gears there isno gear-shift'lever of the type shown, but merely a lever that is movedto neutral position and'this lever will perform the same function aslever 3. I therefore desire to have the term gearshift lever to beconstrued broadly enough to cover both kinds of levers.

It is evident that the function performed by the control box, whichhasbeen described above, can be erformed by other similar devices ofspeci cally different construction. It is of course im ossible toillustrate and describe all the V ifl'erent specific embodiments of thisidea and the claims will be relied upon to afford protection forequivalent means. I have, however, shown one modification of the controlmeans and in Fig. 5 I have shown the modified control boxin perspective.The box 8', in this instance, is cylindrical and has a shaft 9eccentrically mounted for rotation therein. A cylinder 27 (Fig. 6) isnon-rotatably mounted on the shaft. This cylinder extends between bothends of the box and is of such a diameter that a small space 28 is left0 en between theoutside of the cylinder 27 an the inside of the box.Flexible blades 29 are secured along one side to the cylinder 27 andhave their outer edges in contact with the inner surface of the box. Theblades 29 extend the entire length of the c lindrical rotor 27. It isevident that if t e space between the rotor 27 and box 8 is filled, orpartly filled, with a fusible wax or alloy 30, this will keep thecylinder 27 from being rotated while it is in a solid state.- Asthe wax3O softens, the cylinder may be rotated if suflicient force is a liedthereto, but only very slowly, as the g ades hinged to the sides 29 willhave to force the mush wax through the restricted opening 28. W hen thewax becomes sufficiently heated to become a freely flowing fluid, thecylinder 27.1nay be rotated quite reely as the wax inthis state willreadily flow. through the restricted opening. The mechanism for rotatingthe shaft 9 and the cylinder 27 is the same as that described inconnection with the box 8 and is indi cated by .the same numerals. A

Having now described my invention, what I claim as new is: v

1. In combination an automobile radiator; a protector adapted to besecured thereto, said protector having a plurality of louvers hingedlyconnected thereto; a gear-shift le'veflandm'eans comprising a springconnectin said louvers to the gear-shift lever, where y a force will beproducedtending to open said louvers whenever said lever is moved fromneutral position.

2. In combination an automobile radiator; a protector adapted to besecured thereto, said protector having a plurality of louvers hinged tothe sidesthereof and adapted to be opened and closed; means forpreventing the louvers from opening when the temperature is below apredetermined amount; a gear-shift lever; means comprising a springconnecting said louvers with said lever whereby a force is produced thatwill tend to open the louvers whenever the lever is moved from neutralposition.

3. In combination, an automobile radiator; v

a protector adapted to be secured thereto, said protector having aplurality of louvers hinged to the sides thereof and adapted to "beopened and'closed; means for preventing the louvers from opening whenthe temperature is below a predetermined amount, said means comprising areceptacle containing a material that will be hardwhen below a certaintemperatureya shaft rotatable in said' receptacle; a number of pinspassing through the shaft; means whereby the openthe louvers tends torotate said shaft mg 0 and pins; a gear-shift lever; a flexible member'comprislng a spring for joining the louvers to the lever; and meanswhereby when the lever. is moved from neutral position, a force will beproduced in the flexible member which will tend to cause said louvers toopen.

4. In combination an automobile radiator; aprotector adapted to besecured thereto, said protector havingha plurality of louvers t ereofand adapted to be openedand closed; means for preventing the louversfrom opening when the temperature is below a predetermined amount, saidmeans comprising a receptacle containing a material that will be hardwhen below a certain temperature; a shaft rotatable in said box; anumber of pins passing through the shaft; means whereby the opening of aand lever, whereby when the the louvers tends to rotate said shaft andpins; a gear-shift lever; a flexible member comprising a spring forjoining the louvers to the lever; and means whereby when the lever ismoved from neutral osition, a force will be produced in the exiblemember which will tend to cause the said louvers to open; and a springsecured to said flexible member and a stationary part, said spring beingso connected that it will be tensioned whenever the lever is moved fromneutral position.

5. A radiator protector comprising a casing; a lurality of louverspivotally connected t ereto; means comprising a rod for causing saidlouvers to move in unison; a receptacle; receptacle; a ratchet-wheelsecured to the end of the shaft; a spring detent engaging said wheel; alever pivotally connected to the shaft; a pawl on said lever, said pawlbeing adapted to cooperate with said ratchetwheel to rotate the shaft asthe lever moves in one direction; means connecting said rod louvers movefrom closed to open position, the shaft will be rotated; a plurality ofpins, having flattened angularly placed blades, throughsaid shaft; and anormally solid, but readily softenable material in said receptable.

6. In combinaion, an automobile radiator; a protector adapted to besecured thereto, said protector having a plurality of movable membersadaptedto be opened and closed; means connected to .the' movable membersfor preventing the same from opening when the temperature of theradiator is below a predetermined value, said means comprising areceptacle containing a readily fusible material that will be hard whenthe temperature thereof is below a certain value and will graduallysoften as the temperature rises; a movable member within saidreceptacle, said member being in contact with the fusible material andconnected to the first mentionedmovable members in such a manner that itwill be moved when the first mentioned movable members move to openposition, but will remain stationary when the movable members close; andmeans comprising a resilient member connected to the movab e members forimparting to the latter a tendency to open.

7. In combination, an automobile radiator; a protector adapted to besecured thereto, said protector having a plurality of louvers hinged tothe sides thereof, said louvers being adapted to be opened and closed;means connected to the louvers for preventing them from being openedwhile the temperatureof the radiator is below a a shaft rotatablymounted in said 8 predetermined point, said means comprising a recetacle containing a fusible materia that will be hard when below acertain temperature and change graduall from the hard to a liquid formwhen t e temperature increases; a movable member connected to saidreceptacle and having parts thereof embedded in said fusible material,whereby it will be held from movement while the fus ble material ishard; means connecting said louvers to the said movable member, whereyare moved to open position; and means comprising a resilient memberattached to the louvers for imparting to them a tendency to open.

8. In combination, a plurality of members adapted to cooperate to openand close an opening; resilient means tending to move said members to on position; means for holding said mem rs in closed position, said meanscomprisi a receptacle containing a material t at w1 l be hard when belowa predetermined temperature and which will gradually change from hard tofluid state as the temperature increases; a member secured to said recetacle and movable with respect thereto, sai member having portionsthereof embedded in said fusib e material and means connecting themovable member with said first named members, said means causing thefirst named members to move the member in the receptacle when the formermove from closed to open position.

9. A radiator protector comprising a plurality of louvers, means formounting saidlouvers so that they can be moved from open to closedposition and vice versa, means comprising a spring for imparting to saidlouvers a tendency to move to open position and means for holdin saidlouvers against the opening force until the temperature has reached apredetermined value, said means comprisin a material that will becomesoft at the re etermined temperature.

10. radiator protector comprising in combination, a frame, a pluralityof louvers pivoted thereto so as to be relatively movable with respectto each other, means comprising a spring for applying to the louvers aforce tending to move them to open position, means for resisting theopening force while the temperature is below a 'ven :value and forpermitting movement 0 the louvers to open position after the temperaturehas risen above the value, said means comprising a normally hardmaterial that becomes plastic above the given temperature.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature.

HAVABD FARMER HUDSQN.

the latter will be moved when the louvers

